1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to plumbing and, more specifically, to a dual-headed basin wrench that maintains the nut of a main water supply in a stationary position while turning the nut of a supply line leading to a faucet.
Space is very limited under sinks due to an enclosed area having a plurality of supply lines, a drain assembly and other such obstacles thus making simple chores like disconnecting a supply line difficult with wrenches that are turned perpendicular to the fitting. Removing an old faucet and installing a new one is next to impossible with out a basin wrench (also referred to as a faucet wrench). In order to remove/install a faucet on a working sink it's necessary to loosen/tighten locknuts that are located underneath and behind the sink bowl. Not only is it necessary to twist your body into a small space, you are laying on your back and there's only about three inches of working space around these locking nuts. A basin wrench is a plumbing tool for removing and installing sink faucets and is often used in such instances. A basin wrench has a long handle that reaches up from under a sink to turn nuts on fittings and faucets. A basin wrench is normally used to loosen or tighten locknuts for supply hoses attached to compression fittings. Unfortunately, the pressure applied to the locknut often loosens the connection of the coupling on the main water supply side which often requires the use of a second tool to maintain the coupling in a fixed position as the locknut is being turned. This is quite undesirable considering the already cramped worked space and awkward positioning. The present invention seeks to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by introducing a dual-headed basin wrench that will have a ratcheting head that will turn the locknut and a stationary head that will secure the coupling in a fixed position when pressure is applied to the connected locknut being turned.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other remote wrench devices designed for plumbing systems. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 41,485,062 issued to Baldus on Feb. 26, 1924.
Another patent was issued to Miller on Jan. 24, 1927 as U.S. Pat. No. 1,708,147. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 1,914,827 was issued to Hammerich on May 1, 1931 and still yet another was issued on Apr. 2, 1957 Fish as U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,180 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 20, 1959 to Thompson et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,089.
Another patent was issued to Duncan on Jun. 17, 1975 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,558. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,869 was issued to Lee on Nov. 18 1986. Another was issued to Singleton on Jul. 21, 1987 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,994 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 13, 1990 to Singleton as U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,476.
A patent was issued to Tavianini on Jul. 7, 1998 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,183. McCormick et al. were issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,840 on Dec. 18, 2001.
While these ratchet devices may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.